Around July 12, 1918

Most people assume anti-eugenics sentiment only started to occur after the Second World War however that is not the case.[1] As early as the 1910’s sociologists like Maximilian P. E. Groszmann and A.L Sweet raised concern about eugenics; they wasn’t against eugenics as a whole but did disagree with its use in crime and punishment.[2] There were three main arguments against...

The Great War in Europe had already lasted much longer than anticipated by the early months of 1917. Despite a long-standing precedent of neutrality in the face of foreign conflict, the United States steeled itself for the possibility of war. On February 26, 1917, the New York Times ran an article entitled "Suffragist Pledge Aid to the Nation" covering the National American Woman Suffrage...

On December 4, 1919, hundreds of New Orleans's high society watched as their social gathering spot was engulfed in flames. A writer at the time, Andre Lafargue, recounted the deep emotion embedded within the French Opera House, and the mourning that took place upon its historic loss to flames. The French Opera House, located on the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse Streets in the French Quarter,...

In 1911, a committee comprised of six representatives appointed by the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Attorney General, the Commissioners of the District of The Board of Visitors of the Government, and the Secretary of the Interior were chosen to assess the needs of the Government Hospital for the Insane. Within the report that was submitted to the Secretary of the Interior,...

On February 13, 1927, the New York Times published an article entitled “Wet and Dry Talk Heard in 1791: Arguments Used in the Whisky Rebellion Crisis Are Like Today’s,” which sought to highlight similarities between the 1790s Whiskey Rebellion and the events of Prohibition in the 1920s. Much like the events of the Whiskey Rebellion, the period of Prohibition caused citizens to actively...

In 1914 in Walker County, Alabama, pellagra was prevalent. Dr. C. A. Grote, the County Helath Officer, was desperately trying to understand the cause of, and find a treatment for, the disease. He spent that year observing the disease with the assumption that it was infectious in nature. He used "preventative measures" against pellagra the same as he would against any other infectious disease. He...

In 1920 Linton Smith, also known as the Bishop of Hereford, wrote a controversial article on the Temperance Movement and Prohibition. Linton claimed that prohibition could possibly divide political parties on a, “Sex basis," meaning that female prohibition proponents could vote as a block against male opponents of prohibition.

Conflict remained high between Frederick A. Blossom, a socialist party member from Cleveland, and the members of the Executive Committee of the National Birth Control League. The Executive Committee of this organization advocated the removal of birth control from “the category of obscene materials and information”. The open bill versus the doctors-only bill was the contested topic up for debate. ...

Everyone is familiar with the myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow who kicked over the lantern and started the Great Chicago Fire. Far fewer are familiar with the story of the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. A cigarette and not a cow was rumored to have caused the destruction. More important than the causes are the outcomes. The Baltimore Fire of 1904 led to important change in fire safety equipment....

Congress drafted the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 as a means to regulate youth labor. This Act was named for its sponsors, Democratic Representatives Edward Keating and Robert Latham Owen. The Act prohibited the shipment or delivery for shipment for interstate or foreign sale of any goods or services that were produced by laborers under the age of 14 in a factory, shop or cannery...